More

BALTIMORE STANDING TOGETHER: WJZ, The Baltimore Sun & the University of Baltimore will hold town hall meetings to talk about the issues our city is facing. City leaders will share their plans & answer your questions. Be Heard Baltimore. CLICK HERE to contact us with your questions.

Virginia To Decide On Continuing Ban On Winter Harvest Of Blue Crabs

Freshly sorted blue crabs sit in a box in Hopedale, La., Thursday, July 15, 2010. BP finally choked off the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, 85 days and up to 184 million gallons after the crisis unfolded _ then began a tense 48 hours of watching to see whether the capped-off well would hold or blow a new leak. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — Virginia regulators will hold a public hearing next month on whether to continue a ban on the winter harvest of blue crabs.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission must enact the ban on a year-to-year basis. The commission has done so for the past three years.

The Daily Press reports that the commission scheduled an August public hearing at its meeting Tuesday.

Commission members say the ban on the winter crab dredge in the Chesapeake Bay is needed to rebuild the crab population.

Commission member Steven Bowman says the fishery hasn’t fully recovered from years of overfishing and pollution.

Last year, 89 million pounds of crab were harvested in Virginia and Maryland, the largest amount since 1993.